Your resident Asian here to help elaborate on some things about chopsticks!

Chinese and Vietnamese chopsticks are usually long, squared at the top and taper down to become round. When placed side by side, they tend to have little to no gap between the tips (allow you to hold them in a cross position when handling). The long, wooden cooking chopsticks are different, however.

Japanese chopsticks tend to be short and sharply tapered. They tend to be circular throughout, and at the tips, quite pointy. When held side by side, the gap at the end is usually quite significant (because of the pointed tips), which forces them to be held apart when handling, so that the tips meet when clamping food. This makes handling them the Chinese or Vietnamese way (with the possibility of being crossed) less effective.

Korean chopsticks are often made out of metal, are short and are, in quite a unique fashion, flat. As a result, they are much more difficult to handle (because of their flatness), and require a slightly different handling technique for maximum effectiveness.

It's also interesting that the nature of the chopsticks reflects (more or less) the culture of the country.

I'm half Chinese but lived in Korea for a few years and have some exposure to Japanese culture as well.

The Chinese chopsticks are comparatively BIG, bulky, and get the job done. Bold and made of plastic. Sometimes they have that gaudy red foil writing at the ends too.

The Japanese ones are more delicate and graceful, sometimes with some artwork at the ends. They require a more delicate grip, in my opinion...Japanese food is generally smaller, so they don't need those big honkin' Chinese ones.

The Korean ones are pretty damn effective. They're not pretty, but once you get the hang of it, it's damn functional. Not a joy to feel metal against your teeth, but it gets the job done and cuts the food if you need it to. There's also some national pride because they think that superior surgeons come from Korea because their chopsticks are the hardest to use.

Jerry: I'll tell you what I like about Chinese people. They're hanging in there with the chopsticks,aren't they? You know they've seen the fork. They're staying with the sticks. I don't know how they missed it. Chinese farmer gets up, works in the field with a shovel all day. Shovel. Spoon. Come on. You're not plowing 40 acres with a couple of pool cues!